This invention addresses toothbrushing by a patient who is wearing orthodontic appliances on their teeth, that is braces.
One of the main problems faced by the patient and the orthodontist is proper cleaning of the teeth during orthodontic treatment. If plaque, which is a colony of bacteria, is not completely removed each day the patient runs the risk of demineralization of the enamel which initially appears as permanent white scars on the surface of the tooth. These white spots or scars are weakened areas in the surface enamel which eventually lead to cavitation or fracture of the surface, also known as decay. Wearing braces makes thorough cleaning and removal of all plaque very difficult for all patients. Young patients especially lack the manual dexterity needed to correctly position the bristles of an ordinary toothbrush. Also, ordinary toothbrushes are very bulky and make it very difficult to position the toothbrush so that the bristles can access all of the areas around, under and in between the brackets. Therefore some areas are constantly or commonly neglected. These areas include underneath the wings of the orthodontic brackets, the areas between adjacent brackets and the areas below the brackets and adjacent to the gum tissue or gingiva.
Some orthodontic toothbrushes have attempted to address these problems however lack specifically important features.
Stofko, U.S. Pat. No. 9,095,205 has bristles orientated in 2 different directions. However most of the bristles are orientated perpendicularly to the tooth surface. This type of orientation never allows proper penetration down to the gingival margin, which is where the tooth meets the gum tissue. This is one of the areas with the highest incidence of decalcification. This toothbrush is also configured like all other toothbrushes in that it has a very bulky plastic portion that contains the bristles and therefore cannot fit into the oral vestibule, the area between the tooth and lips. This makes brushing below brackets on the bottom and above the brackets on the top very very difficult.
De Ricco's U.S. Pat. No. 9,084,471 is a toothbrush that requires several different manipulations to brush effectively. For each and every quadrant, the brush must be reorientated and therefore held differently. This kind of manipulation is very confusing for all patients but especially young patients which make up the majority of the orthodontic population.
This is why the ortho-buddy was invented. First, it is easy to use and therefore requires very little explanation to the patient. Second, it's compact design allows it to be placed easily above and below the brackets, the area where all ordinary toothbrushes do not fit. Lastly its 360 radial bristle design allows thorough penetration of the bristles to the most commonly neglected areas during orthodontic tooth brushing. The patient's teeth with proper brushing can now remain healthy during the orthodontic treatment process which can last on average 2 years but sometimes can extend far beyond that. The orthodontist can now concentrate on managing the care of the patient and not worry about any harm being done to the teeth due to poor hygiene.